Car door structure



Feb. 23, 1932. c. L UTE ET AL CAR DOOR STRUCTURE Filed Jan. 27, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet Feb. 23, 1932. ci LUTE ET AL GAR DOOR STRUCTURE Filed Jan. 27, 1928 2 sheets-sheet 2 {NWA/Toes- CQEL LUTE KENNETH J E15/N Patented Feb. 23, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CARL L'UTE AND KENNETH J. '.LOBIN',` OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNORS T0 CAMEL COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLNO A CORPORA'LION 0F ILLINOIS CAR DOOR STRUCTURE .Application filed January 27, 1928. Serial N0. 249,872.

The present invention relates to improve ments in car door structure.

More particularly, the present invention relates to improvements in the structure oitl sliding doors, such for example as freight car doors. lt is very desirable, of course, that freight car doors slide easily when it is 1ntended that said doors should slide, but it is also desirable that the sliding eii'ect should be minimized at other times. It is common practice to provide rollers for Carrying -the weight of a sliding freight car door, and 1mprovements have been suggested whereby the weight of the door is taken oli the rollers when the door is not being moved. The present invention relates to improvements along this line.

An object of the present invention is to provide an improved sliding door for a freight car or the like, which door is provide-d with rollers for carrying the door when said door is being moved, together with means ior controlling the relationship between said rollers and said door, whereby the weight of said door will be taken oil said rollers at other times, whereby wear and tear on said rollers will be minimized, and whereby the further advantage is had that at such other times the eil'ect ot friction will be utilized to prevent the accidental movement of said door.

A further object is to provide operating means for a sliding door for performing the double function of controlling the position of the rollers for said door and for serving as a handle, movable into and out of obstrusive position, for moving the door with a sliding movement.

A. further object .is to provide an improved sliding door structure having handle means which when the door is at rest will lie in unobtrusive position, but which when the door is to be moved may be moved to a position convenient for the operator in Controlling the position of said door relative to its rollers and relative to its closing position.

A further object to provide a door operating mechanism which is simple and sturdy in construction and which is well adapted to meet the needs of commercial operation.

Further objects will appear as the description proceeds. y

Referring to the drawings Figure l is a fragmentary view showing part of the side of a railway house car having a sliding door applied thereto, which slid in door embodies the principles of thepresent invention;

, Figure 2 is a sectional view, on an enlarged scale, taken along the plane indicated by the arrows 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a sectional view, on an enlarged scale, taken along the plane indicated by the arrows 3-3 of Figure l;

Figure fi is a sectional view, on an enlarged scale, taken along the plane indicated by the arrows 4 4 of Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a sectional'view, on an enlarged scale, taken along the plane indicated by the arrows 5-5 of Figure l;

Figure 6 is a sectional View similar to Figure l, but showing the sliding door in raised position so that its rollers are operative for carrying the weight of the door; and

Figure 7 is a view, on an enlarged scale, of a detail of construction.

The numeral 1 indicatesa car side and the numeral 2 indicates a sliding door. The particular door chosen for illustration is a bottom supported door and is provided `with rollers 3-3 for carrying the weight of said door when it is intended to slide said door. According to the present invention, means are provided for controlling the position of the door 2 relative to they rollers 3, whereby when the door is at rest the under side of said door will be carried directly by a part rigid with the car side land whereby when it is intended to move said door the weight of said door will be carried by said rollers 3-3.

The numeral 4 indicates a track member rigidly related to the car side l. Said track member is illustrated in the form of a channel having the inner flange 5, outer flange 6 and web portion 7 The upper side of the web portion 7 is adapted to carry the door 2 either directly or through the rollers 3-3 in a manner which will be described hereinafter. The lower extremity of the door 2 is provided with the angle member 8, the flange 9 of which is vertically disposed and the flange of which is adapted to rest flatwise on the upper side of the web 7. The flange 10 of the angle member 8 is provided with the cut out portions 11-11 to provide space whereby the rollers 33 may have bearing engagement with the web 7 of the track member Each of the rollers 3-3 is carried in a holding member, cage or casing 12, each of which holding members, cages or casings, as illustrated in Figure 5, is provided with laterally extending flanges 13-13 adapted to have a sliding movement in a verticaldirection in grooves 14-14 of a corresponding bracket 15. Said brackets 15--15 are rigidly secured, as for instance by means Lof rivets 16-16, to the door 2. j

At least two brackets 15-15 are secured to the door, said brackets being spaced apart. -Said brackets 15-15 may be identical. Each of the holding members 12 is provided with a bearing portion 16a for receiving a rotatable operating member 17, which bearing portion, it will be noted, is disposed symmetri- -fcally of the vertical plane containing the axis of the corresponding` roller.` Secured to said -operating member 17 are a pair of brackets 1-8-18,-each having a dog or tooth 19 adapted to have lifting engagement with a corresponding rib 20 upon the corresponding bracket 15. The operating member may consist of a tube, indicated by the numeral 22, which tube extends substantially to the brackets 18--18l Mounted within the extremities of the tube 22 are solid bars of metal, indicated by the numerals 23-23, which bars are held in place by meansof vpins 24-24, which are riveted over at their ends. The brackets 18-1'8 are secured to said bars 23-23by means of pins 25-25. The extremities of said bars 23-213 are journaled in the bearing portions 16a-16a of the brackets 15-15. The teeth or vdogs lll-19, it will be noted, cooperate with the ribs 20,-20 in substantially the same plane as the grooves lll- 14, which guide the flanges 13-13 of the corresponding roller holding member 12. By reason of this construction the danger of cocking of-each cage or holding member 12 relative to the door is minimized.

A rotating movement may be communicated to the operating member 17 by means of the handle 26, which, when the door is in its lowermost or normal position, lies substantially flatwise against the door 2. Said handle 26 is secured to the operating member 17 by means of pins 27-27, which may have their ends riveted over. Adjacent to the handle 26 are a pair of brackets 28-28 secured to the door 2. Said brackets, as indicated in Figures 2 and 6, provide slots 2.9-29 for receiving the operating member 17 vBy reason of said slots 29-29, the door 2 may have a sliding movement in a vertical direction relative to the operating member 17.

A preferred contour of each bracket 15 will be clear from an inspection of Figures 5 and 7. It will be noted that each of said brackets has a rib 20 on each side of the bearing portion 16a. By reason of this construction, the length of the operating member 17 may be held to a minimum without requiring ythat the brackets 15-15 be made right and left.

Each cage or casing 12 comprises a front wall 30 and a rear wall 31, which front walls provide supports for a pin 32 for rotatably receiving the corresponding roller 3. Roller bearings may, if preferred, be disposed between each pin 32 and its corresponding roller 3. Roller bearings 33 are shown in dotted lines in Figure 7. The cage or casing 12 is provided with the topand two side walls 34 for preventing as much as possible the ingress of dirt to the roller 3. The out-er wall 30 of each cage or casing 12 is provided with a pair of downwardly extending portions 35--35 adapted to abut against the outer flange 5 of the track member 4, thereby limiting the inward swinging movement of the door 2. Said downwardly extending portions 35-35 have ngers 36-p-36 at their lower extremities eX- tending in rear of the iiange 5 of the track member 4, which limit outer swinging movement of the door at the bottom thereof.

It will be understood without detailed explanation that the weight of the cages or casings 12'-12 will hold the rollers 3 3 in engagement with the upper surface of the track member 4, wherebyv rotation of said rollers 3-3 independently of movement of the door 2 is prevented. Under normal conditions, the door wil-l be in its lowermost position, as indicated in Figur-es 1, 2, 3 and 4, in which position the iiange 10 of the angle 8 rests 4flatwise upon the upper flat surface of the track member 4. Inasmuch as the weight of the door is carried by the angl-e 8, the frictional engagement of the angle 8 with the track member 4 will prevent the accidental sliding vmovement of the door 2. As stated above, the cut out portions 11-11 of the flange 10 of the angle 8 permit engagement of the rollers 3 with the trackmember 4. Under normal conditions, as stated above, the ribs 20-20 of the brackets 15, by reason of their engagement with the teeth 19-19 secured to the operating member 17, will hold the operating handle 26 in vertical position substantially ilatwise against the sid-e of the door. Vhen it is desired to slide the door upon the rollers 3 3, the operator will pull outwardly upon the lever 26, swinging said lever about Vthe axis of the rotatingmember 17 This movement will cause the teeth 19-19 to eX- ert a lifting force upon the ribs 20-20 of the brackets 15, resulting in the raising of the door. By reason of the slotted construction of the brackets 28-28 which are secured to the door 2, this lifting movement may be acvec complished without interference between the operating member 17 and said brackets. Said brackets 28-28 will be found tobe of service in preventing distortion of the operating member 17 under service conditions. lilith the handle 26 in the angular` position shown in Figure 6 and with the door in lifted position, the weight of the door will, of course, be carried by the rollers 8--3 and the operator may readily slide said door. The instant the operator releases his hold upon the operating handle 26, the weight of the door, coacting with the teeth 19-19 of the brackets 18--18 will cause a swinging movement of the handle 26 back into its normal position substantially iatwise with relation to the door 2.

The present invention will be found to be applicable to many types of door and will also be found to adapt itself readily to latching mechanism intended to hold the door in closed position, or in a predetermined open position. By reason of the fact that the door is frictionally held independently of the rollers BH3 at all times, except when a pull is being exerted upon the handle Q6, the danger of accidental slamming of the door is substantially reduced.

Through a preferred embodiment of the present invention hasbeen described in de tail,.many modifications will occur to those skilled in the art. It is intended to cover all such modifications that fall within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed isl. In combination, a sliding door, a flat track member, said door having a fiat portion adapted to have frictional bearing engagement on said track member, rollers having engagement with said track member, members for rotatably holding said rollers, guide means secured to said door and having overlapping relationship with said holding members, an operating member disposed in parallel relationship with said door, said oper-- ating member being journaled in said holding members and having means cooperating with said door for communicating a lifting movement directly to said door, and means having a swinging movement transversely of said door for communicating movement to said operating member.

2. In combination, a sliding door, a track member, said door and track member having cooperating portions for flatwise engagement therebetween rollers adapted to roll upon said track member, holding means for said rollers, said holding means being slidably supported relative to said door, and unitary lifting means for directly communicating a lifting effect to said door, said last mentioned means being fulcrumed in said holding means, and including an elongated, rotatable member havingits aXis of rotation parallel to said door.

3. In combination, a sliding door, a track member, said door and track member having cooperating portions for iiatwise engagement therebetween, rollers adapted to roll upon said track member, holding means for said rollers, said holding means being slidably supported relative to said door, and lifting means for directly communicating a lifting effect to said door, said last mentioned means being fulcrumed in said holding means, said lifting means comprising a rotatable member arranged parallel` to said door, and a manually operable lever for rotating said rotatable member. i Ml 4. In combination, a sliding door,y a track member, said door and track member having cooperating portions for iatwise engagement therebetween, rollers adapted to roll upon said track member, holding means for said rollers, said holding means being slidably supported relative to said door, lifting means for directly communicating a lifting effect to said door, said last mentioned meansbeing fulcrumed in said holding means, said lifting means comprising a rotatable member arranged parallel to said door, and a manually operable lever movable in a direction transversely of said door for rotating said rotatable member.

5. In combination, a sliding door, a track member, said door and track member having cooperating portions for flatwise engagement whereby when said door is in normal position said door is frictionally held against sliding, a plurality of brackets on said door, a roller holding means slidably carried by each of said brackets, a roller in each of said roller holding means, said rollers having engagement with said track member, and lever lifting means fulcrumed in said roller holding means and engaging with said brackets for communicating a direct lifting movementfto said door in a single plane.

6. In combination, a sliding door, a track member, said door and track member having cooperating portions for iiatwise engagement whereby when said door is in normal position said door is frictionally held against sliding, a plurality of brackets on said door, a roller holding means slidably carried by each of said brackets, a roller in each of said roller holding means, said rollers having engagement with said track member, lever lifting means fulcrumed in said roller holding means and engaging with said brackets for communicating a lifting movement to said door in a single plane, and a handle swinging ly movable in an axis transverse to said door for operating said leverlifting means.

. 7. In combination, a` sliding door, a track member for carrying said door, a plurality of brackets secured to said door, eachof said brackets having a pairy of opposed grooves, a roller retainer associated with each of said brackets, said roller retainer having flanges riding in .said grooves, aroller carried by each of said rollery retainers, said rollers having engagement with said track, and means fulcrumed upon said roller retainers 'for lifting said door relative to said vroller retainers.

f8. In combination, ra sliding door, a track member, a pair of brackets carried-by said door, a roller retainer slidably carriedby each of said brackets, each of said retainers comprising a bearing portion, each of said brackets having a. pair of ribs disposed laterally on the two sides of said bearing portion, and a rotatable'member'` journaledl in said bearing portions of said retainers and havingteeth secured-thereto between said bearing portions, said teeth being disposed in position to engage adjacent ribs of said brackets.

9. In combination, a sliding door, a track member, a pair of brackets carried by said door, a roller retainer slidably carried by each of said brackets, each of said retainers comprising a bearing portion, each of said brackets having a pair of ribs disposed laterally on the two sides of said bearing portion, a rotatable member journaled in said bearing portions of said retainers and having teeth secured thereto between said bearing portions, said teeth being disposed in position to engage adjacent ribs of said brackets, and means swinging transversely of said door for communicating turning movement to said rotatable'member.

10. In combination, a sliding door, a track member, said door and track member having cooperating portions for flatwise engagement therebetween, rollers, holding means 'for said rollers, said holding means being slidably supported relative to said door, and lifting means fulcrumed upon said holding means for directly communicating a lifting effect to said door in a single plane, said lifting means including an elongated, rotatable member having its axis of rotation parallel to said door.

11. In combination, a sliding door, a track member, a pair ofbrackets carried by said door, a roller retainer slidably carried Yby each of said brackets, each of said retainers having a bearing portion, each of said brackets having ribs disposed on'the two sides of said bearing portion, and a rotatable member journaled in said bearing portions of said retainers and having teeth secured thereto, said teeth being disposed in position to engage said ribs on the under side of said ribs for lifting said door.

12. In combination, a sliding door, a track member, rollers having engagement with said track member, members for rotatably holding said rollers, guide means secured to said door and having overlapping portions cooperating with said holding members for constraining said guide means and said holding members to vertical movement relative to each other, and an operating member journaled in said holding'members, saidv operating member being provided with dogs for communicating Va. lifting movement to said door in substantially the same plane as said overlapping portions. 13. In combination, a sliding door, a track member, a pair of vbrackets carried by said door, each of said brackets having a roller retaining member slid-ably carried thereby, each of said roller retaining members having a roller engaging said track member and also having a bearing portion, said bearing portion being disposed directly over said roller, and a unitary rotatable member j ournaled in said bearing portion, said rotatable member having abutment portions adapted to communicate the lifting movement to said door. 14. In combination, a sliding door, a track member, said track member including an elongated flat portion of substantial width, brackets secured to said door adjacent to the lower corners thereof, roller retainers slidably carried by said brackets, said door being provided with a fiat portion extending substantially the whole distance between said I brackets and adapted to engage iatwise against said track member to prevent slamming of said door, and rotatable means fulcrumed upon said roller retainers for communicating a direct lifting force to said door, said rotatable means including an elongated member disposed parallel with said door.

'15. In combination, a sliding door, a track member, said track member having a depending lange adj acentto its outer extremity, a pair of brackets carried by said door, each of said brackets having a roller retaining member slidably carried thereby, each of said roller retaining members having a roller engaging said track member, and lever means fulcrumed in said retaining members for communicating a lifting effect to said door, said retaining members having hook portions engaging behind said ange.

Signed at Chicago, Illinois, this 18th day of January, 1928.

' CARL LUTE.

KENNETH J. TOBIN. 

